Laser processing provides a unique method of modifying materials by depositing large amounts of energy onto the surface of a material in an extremely controlled manner. Laser processing enables the precisely localized treatment of a material. Laser processing is particularly useful after thin-film deposition of amorphous materials, which usually involves low temperature processing, and allows for the use of flexible and low melting temperature substrates for large area device fabrication. However, these devices lack better performance, usually due to poor electrical, optical, and/or structural properties. Laser processing of these devices with ultra-short laser pulses has been found to improve the properties of the devices, because the high peak intensities of the laser pulses rapidly texture the surface, and a subsequent quenching process induces crystallization in the material. The texturing of the surface leads to more light absorption in the material, and the subsequent crystallization improves the electronic properties of the material.
For example, thin film amorphous silicon (a-Si) based devices are inexpensive compared to their crystalline counterparts because of low temperature processing, which is suitable for deposition on large substrates, such as glass, plastic, and steel foils. However, solar cell devices fabricated using a-Si thin-films lack efficiency, have a high reflectivity across the electromagnetic spectrum, possess a larger band gap (˜1.7 eV), and have limited carrier mobility. In order to improve the efficiency and sensitivity of a-Si based devices, post-deposition laser processing is usually recommended. This includes texturing and subsequent crystallization of the surface. Pulsed laser crystallization of thin a-Si films on various substrates has potential applications in the fabrication of thin film transistors for active matrix liquid crystal displays and efficient solar cells. Typically, nanosecond or microsecond lasers are utilized to crystallize such films through a rapid melting and solidification process. Methods of using a laser to crystallize a material surface are also disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,014 to McCulloch, U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,631 to Grigoropoluos et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,489,188 to Jung, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,932 to Grigoropoluos et al.
Methods of using an ultrafast laser to texture the surface of crystalline bulk silicon are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/155,429 to Mazur. Mazur discloses a method of texturing the surface of a silicon substrate by irradiating the surface with ultra-short laser pulses in the presence of a background gas, such as SF6. After texturing, the silicon surface in Mazur contains cone-like microstructures that are up to 50 μm high, and have widths of about 0.8 μm near the tip and up to 10 μm near the base. Also, Mills and Kolasinski disclose nanospikes formed atop silicon pillars when the sample is exposed to SF6 gas diluted with helium (17 Nanotechnology 2471, 2006). Further, Vorobyev and Guo disclose the formation of nanoprotrusions with spherical tips on copper, gold, and platinum surfaces by using a femtosecond laser ablation technique (14 Optics Express 2164, 2006).
While the prior art discussed above provides important advantages, it suffers from a number of drawbacks. The prior art fails to disclose a method of producing periodic arrays of pillar structures on a surface of a material by texturing the surface. Further, the prior art does not teach a method of texturing and crystallizing a surface in one step. Also, the prior art does not teach a method of forming pillar structures on metal surfaces. In addition, the prior art fails to disclose a method of utilizing laser texturing and crystallization in many novel applications.